Magnetic recording/reproducing apparatuses for performing recording and reproduction on a so-called single reel cartridge, in which a magnetic tape is wound around a single reel and stored, have been already known. As compared with a two-reel cartridge comprising a supply reel and a take-up reel, the single reel cartridge does not have a take-up reel therein, thereby achieving a compact cartridge.
In the single reel cartridge, as shown in FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b), a leader block 3 is provided on the leading edge of a magnetic tape 2 stored in a cartridge 1. Then, the cartridge 1 is loaded by means of a cassette loading mechanism (not shown) in A direction and is stored on a predetermined position. From this state, the leader block 3 is transported to a take-up reel 6 via a guide post 4 and a recording head 5.
Two methods are mainly used for transporting the leader block 3 to the take-up reel 6 as follows:
1. A hook is attached to the end of a lead-in tape connected to the take-up reel 6, the hook catches the leader block 3, the leader block 3 is moved to the take-up reel 6 via the lead-in tape in this state, and the leader block 3 is locked in the take-up reel 6.
2. A transporting/connecting mechanism called a transport is provided, the leader block 3 is chucked by a pin and the like provided in the transporting/connecting mechanism, and the leader block 3 is moved to the take-up reel 6 by means of a lever and a rail provided in the transporting/connecting mechanism.
In this configuration, a fixed magnetic head shown in FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b) has been conventionally used as the recording head 5 which performs recording and reproduction on the magnetic tape 2. Instead, the use of a rotating drum type magnetic head is proposed for high density recording (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-303801, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-103649).
As shown in FIGS. 11(a) and 11(b), a conventional magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus using the single reel cartridge 1 and a rotating drum type magnetic head is configured as follows: in plan view, the rotating drum type magnetic head (hereinafter referred to as a rotary magnetic head) 10 is disposed at the center, the single reel cartridge 1 is disposed so as to be stored on the upstream side (left side in FIG. 11) and the take-up reel 6 is disposed in the rear (right side in FIG. 11) while predetermined intervals are provided on both sides of the rotary magnetic head 10. Further, a transporting/connecting mechanism 11 for transporting the leader block 3 of the cartridge 1 is disposed from the installation position of the cartridge 1 to the center of the take-up reel 6 (FIG. 11 schematically shows the installation position of the transporting/connecting mechanism 11). On one side of the take-up reel 6, a notch 6a is formed only on a part corresponding to the moving path of a grabber for catching the leader block 3 of the cartridge 1 in the vicinity of the center of the take-up reel 6. Reference numeral 7 denotes a supply reel which is disposed in the cartridge 1 and has the magnetic tape 2 wound thereon.
After the leader block 3 of the cartridge 1 is locked into the take-up reel 6, as shown in FIG. 12, a plurality of guide posts (tape guide rollers 12 and 13 for winding the magnetic tape 2 around the rotary magnetic head 10, a pinch roller 15 for pressing the magnetic tape 2 onto a capstan 14a serving as the axis of rotation of a capstan motor. 14, and a guide roller 16 for guiding the magnetic tape 2 from the take-up reel 6 to the capstan 14a) are moved along predetermined moving paths a and b. With these operations, the magnetic tape 2 is wound around the rotary magnetic head 10 and the magnetic tape 2 is transported by the capstan 14a at a predetermined speed, and information on the magnetic tape 2 is read and written by the rotary magnetic head 10.
However, in the case where the single reel cartridge 1 is used in the magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus having the rotary magnetic head 10, the rotary magnetic head 10 has to be separated from the take-up reel 6 in consideration of the maximum winding diameter of the take-up reel 6, and the rotary magnetic head 10 and the take-up reel 6 have to be disposed somewhat apart from each other in consideration of the moving paths a and b not permitting some of the guide posts (the tape guide rollers 12 and 13, the pinch roller 15, the guide roller 16, and so on) to interfere with the hub and the like of the take-up reel 6 when the guide posts for drawing the magnetic tape 2 are moved. Therefore, the length of the overall product serving as the magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus is larger than the magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus comprising the recording head 5 of a fixed head type. Particularly, the apparatus has a large length L1 in the longitudinal (depth) direction along which a part for storing the cartridge. 1, the rotary magnetic head 10, and the take-up reel 6 are arranged, as seen in plan view, and thus the apparatus has a large plane installation area. Hence, the magnetic recording/reproducing apparatus is increased in size.